One-hand shotgun

Engineer · 05-13-2004, 11:22 AM

My nephew suffered a brain stem stroke several years ago, leave his right side (his dominant side) with a lot of paralysis. He can shoot a small youth model Topper .410 left handed, shouldering the gun with one hand.

He needs a heavier gauge gun, like a 28 or 20, so he does not have to get on target so fast.

I do not know which eye is dominant, but he sights with his left eye, since he has little choice.

Anyone out there with experience with one handed shotgunning?? What sorts of modifications help? WHat about cross-dominance? Any gunsmiths who specialize in this?

NRAJOE · 05-13-2004, 01:32 PM

http://www.nrahq.org/compete/disabled.asp

http://www.shootonline.org/

http://residents.bowhunting.net/susieq/dis-hunters.html

Sorry about your nephew bro.

NRAJOE · 05-13-2004, 01:32 PM

Oh...and welcome!

BattleRifleG3 · 05-14-2004, 01:31 PM

I've thought a little bit about this and think some sort of bullpup arrangement might work out best. A bullpup puts the barrel as far back as possible, resulting in a shorter weapon and a center of gravity that is farther to the rear. The drawback is a more difficult triger pull. A semi-auto might be the best choice for follow up shots, but it MUST be left handed or a bullpup would send a reciprocating handle and ejected shell in the shooter's face, causing injury. If money isn't a huge deal, I'd suggest going to a smith/dealer who can order a left handed semi-auto shotgun and convert it to bullpup configuration all for one price. If those costs are too prohibitive, do a little bit of research on bullpup designs and since you're an engineer, you could probably figure out a way to convert it yourself.
As far as I could suggest (I'm a senior MECE student), You'd have to:
1. Remove the buttstock and fabricate some sort of short butt for it that will rest against the shooter's shoulder. make sure you choose a semi-auto shotgun that does not have any moving parts inside the buttstock, like a recoil assembly.
2. Design and build a linkage between the new trigger and the original one, so that pulling the new one would pull the old one. This is the hardest part to do right. A bad trigger is the common complaint of all bullpups. Make sure it does not obstruct any other function of the shotgun.
3. Design and build a pistol grip and new trigger up front under the forend, either using the existing forend or fabricating a new one.

Hope this helps somwhat. Any more questions and ideas please bring up here. And welcome!

lefty o · 12-10-2006, 03:20 PM

sorry, did not see this before. i actually shoot trap with a guy that has only one arm, and he's pretty dang good. hes not a big guy, but i think it comes down to arm strength. he shoots an older browning bt-99 with ejector.

05-13-2004, 11:22 AM	#1
Engineer Registered User Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Illinois (pity me) Posts: 2 Trader Rating: (0)	One-hand shotgun My nephew suffered a brain stem stroke several years ago, leave his right side (his dominant side) with a lot of paralysis. He can shoot a small youth model Topper .410 left handed, shouldering the gun with one hand. He needs a heavier gauge gun, like a 28 or 20, so he does not have to get on target so fast. I do not know which eye is dominant, but he sights with his left eye, since he has little choice. Anyone out there with experience with one handed shotgunning?? What sorts of modifications help? WHat about cross-dominance? Any gunsmiths who specialize in this?

05-13-2004, 01:32 PM	#2
NRAJOE Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Toledo,OH Posts: 19,014 Trader Rating: (0)	Maybe try these links and info... http://www.nrahq.org/compete/disabled.asp http://www.shootonline.org/ http://residents.bowhunting.net/susieq/dis-hunters.html Sorry about your nephew bro. __________________ U.S. Army 1976-1979 237th Combat Engineers Heilbronn, Germany

05-13-2004, 01:32 PM	#3
NRAJOE Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Toledo,OH Posts: 19,014 Trader Rating: (0)	Oh...and welcome! __________________ U.S. Army 1976-1979 237th Combat Engineers Heilbronn, Germany

05-14-2004, 01:31 PM	#4
BattleRifleG3 Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Western PA Posts: 11,401 Trader Rating: (0)	I've thought a little bit about this and think some sort of bullpup arrangement might work out best. A bullpup puts the barrel as far back as possible, resulting in a shorter weapon and a center of gravity that is farther to the rear. The drawback is a more difficult triger pull. A semi-auto might be the best choice for follow up shots, but it MUST be left handed or a bullpup would send a reciprocating handle and ejected shell in the shooter's face, causing injury. If money isn't a huge deal, I'd suggest going to a smith/dealer who can order a left handed semi-auto shotgun and convert it to bullpup configuration all for one price. If those costs are too prohibitive, do a little bit of research on bullpup designs and since you're an engineer, you could probably figure out a way to convert it yourself. As far as I could suggest (I'm a senior MECE student), You'd have to: 1. Remove the buttstock and fabricate some sort of short butt for it that will rest against the shooter's shoulder. make sure you choose a semi-auto shotgun that does not have any moving parts inside the buttstock, like a recoil assembly. 2. Design and build a linkage between the new trigger and the original one, so that pulling the new one would pull the old one. This is the hardest part to do right. A bad trigger is the common complaint of all bullpups. Make sure it does not obstruct any other function of the shotgun. 3. Design and build a pistol grip and new trigger up front under the forend, either using the existing forend or fabricating a new one. Hope this helps somwhat. Any more questions and ideas please bring up here. And welcome! __________________ Trust is earned, not... GIVEN away. - Worf

12-10-2006, 03:20 PM	#5
lefty o Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: mn Posts: 4,695 Trader Rating: (0)	sorry, did not see this before. i actually shoot trap with a guy that has only one arm, and he's pretty dang good. hes not a big guy, but i think it comes down to arm strength. he shoots an older browning bt-99 with ejector.